Month: June 2009

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Half of Traffic Fatalities Are Not in Cars

Thought you would be interested in the World
Health Organization’s release of a 351-page report of a study funded by
Bloomberg Philanthropies

that reveals, according to a
story published today by the Washington Post, that:
 

Nearly half of the 1.2
million people killed in traffic accidents around the world each year are
not in cars. They are on motorcycles or bicycles or walking along the side of
the road.
 
The story is titled “Half of Traffic
Fatalities Are Not in Cars” can be found at https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/15/AR2009061501544.html
 
The
story says that:
 

One of the more surprising
discoveries was the toll on pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycle riders
crowding the roads in developing countries, who accounted for 46 percent of all
traffic deaths.
 
The report, according to the story, tells
about how much more civilized we are here in the U.S.:
 

In the United States, 51
percent of deaths involve car drivers, 21 percent are car passengers,
11 percent
motorcyclists,
11 percent
pedestrians and
2 percent bicyclists.

 
The story concludes by noting
that:
 
WHO is hosting a global
conference on road safety in Moscow in November. [Etienne G.G. Krug, a physician at WHO in Geneva
who led the project] said he hopes the data will be updated periodically in the
future in the form of national report cards on traffic
safety.
 
Perhaps the dream of “Traffic Justice” that
many of us envisioned at the start of the 2006 ProWalk/ProBike Conference will
come closer to reality in Moscow this November.
 
                                                                    
John
 
John Gideon
Consider Biking
Vice-President
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MWCOG: Priorities for a Growing Region

…
While traffic is a leading irritant, it is not where the public would place the most effort over the long-term.
In one of the study’s more challenging findings, residents do not place great emphasis on solving the region’s transportation problems. By a large margin, traffic and transportation are listed as the top “long-term issue or challenge facing the Washington region.” The concern is particularly acute in parts of Northern Virginia. But when asked how much of a priority they would place on transportation if they were making decisions for the region, citizens rank transportation ninth out of a list of sixteen broad items tested – in other words in the middle of the pack. With this finding, residents are not saying “do not solve it,” but they are identifying a number of other pressing priorities that need greater attention in their view.
…
The second leading priority for the long term is producing safe streets and neighborhoods. On safety as well as education there are strong differences in performance among jurisdictions, but near total consensus that public safety is a high priority.
…
One’s commuting choice heavily impacts this number. Compared to the 54% overall number, only 38% of people who typically commute to work or school by driving alone mention transportation as a top regional challenge. The number is 50% among people who commute by mass transit, carpooling, or another means like walking or biking. Among those who do not commute regularly, the number jumps to 71%. Despite daily frustrations, commuters who drive alone are the least concerned about the region’s transportation challenges. [So why does the region over stress accommodating the SOV (Single Occupancy Vehicle?)]
Continue reading “MWCOG: Priorities for a Growing Region”

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

Dateline Friday June 12th; Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (MBPAC.)
Martin Harris MDOT’s Legislative Officer gave an excellent overview of "Maryland’s Legislative Process" and presented a very optimistic view of MDOT supporting bicycling and addressing advocates issues at least in terms of general principles but cautioned that in some details we may not see exactly eye to eye. But overall there has been tremendous improvement from MDOT at least in not opposing everything we but forth and we are improving our working relationship thanks to the efforts of One Less Car.
But we do have a major problem from the Chair of the Environmental Matters Motor Vehicles & Transportation Subcommittee (just to note I am filling in a blank here, this paragraph was not part of MH’s overview.) We have cyclists in his district working on this, whether there is hope he is his getting closer to our position or if he will continue his one man crusade against bicyclists is hard to say at this time. His district houses one of the few hardly any one bikes university campuses in the nation and a hot bed of bike/ped crashes (not at the campus obviously,) improving conditions for cycling is important issue for his constituents and all of Maryland. When we have word on which way the wind is blowing on this we will post in the Politics topic, in the mean time try to keep an open mind and if you approach him be positive.
Continue reading “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

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Electric bicycles are leaving cars in the dust

…
In China, electric bicycles are leaving cars in the dust. Last year, Chinese bought 21 million e-bikes, compared with 9.4 million autos. While China now has about 25 million cars on the road, it has four times as many e-bikes. Thanks to government encouragement and a population well versed in riding two wheels to work, the country has become the world’s leading market for the cheap, green vehicles, helping to offset some of the harmful effects of the country’s automobile boom. Indeed, as engineers around the world scramble to create eco-friendly, plug-in electric cars, China is already ahead of the game. Says Frank Jamerson, a former GM engineer turned electric-vehicle analyst: "What’s happening in China is sort of a clue to what the future will be."
…
Continue reading “Electric bicycles are leaving cars in the dust”

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RAAM

Greetings
fellow cyclists!  I just wanted to invite you all to share
with us the experience of Race Across America 2009.

 

I am the
Crew Chief for Alls Wheels 4 Fibromyalgia, a 4 person mixed team based out of
New Jersey, but with team members from Arizona to the UK and yours truly right
here in DC.

 

You can
check out our AW4F Web site, join our Facebook team, follow us on Twitter, or read
all about it on my blog.  And you can come out to the dock in
Annapolis and welcome us home!  Hope to see you
there.

 

We leave
Oceanside, California on June 20th and hope to reach Annapolis by
June 27th.

Thank you
for your support,

 

Yvette and
everyone from All Wheels 4 Fibromyalgia

Continue reading “RAAM”